Saskatoon serial inventor at it again with eco-friendly bag

Landfill-clogging plastic bags aren't getting much good press lately. That's where Saskatoon's Harold Sokyrka sees an opportunity for Kwik BagIt, the latest of many inventions over his life. 

"Inventing something is not an easy thing to do, you have many, many hours of thinking and I wake up at night with an idea and it's like a 'eureka' moment, 'Why didn't I think of that?' " Sokyrka said on CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

Kwik BagIt is a combination of a reusable bag and stand that Sokyrka came up with initially hoping to make yard work easier.   

"It's a funny thing, my wife doesn't like helping me in the yard anymore, so I thought, 'I need a second person, or a third arm.' And that's where Kwik BagIt comes in handy."

After taking a prototype for a trial run in the the front yard, a steady stream of interested neighbours convinced him to try and take it to market. 

Bright idea

This isn't the first time Sokyrka has set out to turn a grain of inspiration into dollar signs. He's invented everything from a modular CD/DVD tower to a Chia Pet-styled figurine. 

But for Harold, one invention burns especially bright in his memory.

"I had a very successful invention back in the mid-80s and it was a sign product that I brought into the marketplace, it was an alternative to neon," Sokyrka said.

Sokyrka's brainchild, Luminite, took a decade of development and sold around the world.

It was a way of making signs with the look of neon-style tubing without the cost or hassle. 

My dad, he always used this phrase, he said 'Don't ever be afraid to tell people what you do ...- Harold Sokyrka

Instead of glowing from inside like neon, Luminite was made from a material which would light up when exposed to UV light. The novel way the signs were made was one of Sokyrka's key innovations.

"The idea came from a visit to the bakery when I watched the baker put my wife's name on the cake and he squeezed it out with whatever they use and I thought 'I got to squeeze this thing out.' so that was the first step," said Sokyrka. 

Early start

Sokyrka first learned how a little inspiration can go a long way when he was eight years old, delivering newspapers in London, Ont.

"My dad, he always used this phrase, he said 'Don't ever be afraid to tell people what you do, because if you don't tell them, they don't know what you're doing.' So I used that," Sokyrka said.

Taking the advice to heart, Sokyrka knocked on doors to let potential customers know he was in delivering the London Free Press.  

Sokyrka soon had dozens of customers and too many newspapers for his bicycle to support. 

"The biggest problem you have with that much weight is your bike falls over. So I devised a way to keep my bike from falling over and I don't know what I called it, but sure worked fine," Sokyrka said. 

"I should have probably patented that one because I think it's a great idea."